Mack Doris said it was heartwarming to realize that what started as an attempt to make something good out of a tragedy has blossomed into a movement that is helping to save lives.
The Ride for Mental Health has become a summer staple in New Paltz, raising more than $1.2 million for mental health treatment and support, and has become something of a cathartic platform for those affected to share their stories, advice and offer solace.
Dorris said those emotional conversations and relationships built are as important an element of the annual gathering as the fundraising.
The Ride for Mental Health returns next weekend, June 22-23, again offering bike trails of varying distances and difficulty through the Ulster County countryside to promote education and discussion about the prevalent illness.
The event starts at the Ulster County Fairgrounds and includes a 50-mile “north” route, a 50-mile “south” route, a 100-mile trek, plus 25 miles of flat trail and 14 miles of rail trail. The course passes landmarks such as Mount Mohonk, Ashokan Reservoir and Minnewaska State Park Preserve. There is also the option to run virtually.
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Participants will be provided with cycling jerseys, socks and water bottles, and there will be plenty of bonding and conversation over a catered dinner following the ride on Saturday.
Doris, who turns 70 next month, said she plans to drive 50 miles north on the road on Saturday and “50 miles south” on Sunday.
Donors and interested cyclists can register at RideForMentalHealth.org, where anyone who registers this week will receive a discount code of LC2024 to save $50 off their registration fee. The organization is also still looking for volunteers to help along the route.
“We’re encouraging families to come and experience the rail-trail ride from Huguenot Road in New Paltz to the Rosendale Trestle,” Dorris said, adding that registration is $100 for a family of four. “I think it’s a good thing for kids to get involved. It’s never too early to start talking to kids about mental health.”
The event raises money for local nonprofits, including McLean Hospital in Massachusetts, a renowned psychiatric hospital, as well as the New Paltz Youth Program and the Maya Gold Foundation, a New Paltz-based youth-serving charity founded in memory of 15-year-old Maya who committed suicide.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 20% of Americans are affected by mental health issues, and the problem affects most families in some way.
Eric Dorris was an outpatient at McLean Hospital where he was being treated for borderline personality disorder, but died of a drug overdose in 2016. His death prompted his father to start the charity. Mac Dorris lives in Brooklyn, but has a home in New Paltz and often bikes in the Hudson Valley.
The ride has attracted about 400 participants each year since in-person rides resumed after the pandemic, and raised more than $216,000 last year.
Several charities and foundations aimed at mental health awareness have been established in recent years, some born out of similar family tragedies, and some are locally based: James Warriors, a Hudson Valley suicide prevention organization founded in memory of James Thomas, a Roy C. Ketchum High School graduate who took his own life in 2019;
Local high school and college sports teams also help raise money and promote Morgan’s Message, a nonprofit that aims to raise awareness of mental illness among young athletes.
The day after the Ride ends, Doris will travel to Salt Lake City to speak at a conference hosted by the Huntsman Foundation, which donated $150 million to the University of Utah in 2021 to create the Huntsman Institute for Mental Health.
“It’s a wonderful thing,” Doris said of the creation of mental health-based charities. “Many of them are set up by people who have lost loved ones and are heartbroken, and they want to do something to help others. These foundations shed more light on the issues and generate more dialogue, which helps us make progress.”
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
